Women's Basketball Storms Back to Top Columbia State
Columbia, TN – Calhoun women's basketball battled from behind all night to earn a gutsy 63-58 road win over Columbia State on Monday. The gates opened quickly as the Warhawks jumped out to an early lead and forced the Chargers into a first-quarter shootout. Columbia State swung the momentum in their favor around the four-minute mark, taking a 22-17 lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter stayed in the Chargers' hands as the Calhoun offense stalled. Columbia State held the Warhawks to just nine points in the period while adding 14 of their own to take a 10-point halftime advantage. The third quarter flipped the other direction, with Calhoun locking in defensively to hold Columbia State to nine points, cutting the deficit to seven entering the final frame.
The Warhawks clawed away throughout the fourth quarter until the 2:57 mark, when a Gabrielle Stigger layup gave Calhoun a 55-53 lead, the team's first since the 4:33 mark of the opening quarter. Calhoun wouldn't look back from there, closing out the game and securing the 63-58 victory.
Stigger's go-ahead bucket capped what was already a standout night for the sophomore guard, who led the Warhawks with 15 points while orchestrating the offense for seven assists. Jamya Glover was a force off the bench, providing a momentum-shifting double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting. Kamora Simpson added another spark, impacting the game on both ends with 11 points, five rebounds, and three steals, all while not missing a single shot from the field.
Head Coach Candace Byrd praised her team's resilience: "I loved what I saw from the girls down the stretch tonight. To play from behind on the road all game and chip away to battle back in the final minutes takes a lot of grit and a lot of mental toughness. This was a good, hard-fought road victory to take us into the break."
Calhoun (5-3) will take the court again Tuesday, December 2 at 5 p.m., hosting Itawamba at Kelley Gymnasium.